Nice video with aerial footage of Lyon's new T6 extension that clearly shows two key ingredients of French trams that make it difficult to replicate them here, unless we change the way we design streets: - accepting an extremely narrow single-lane street - accepting bending youtu.be/RMxHZDGYGc4?...

Another new paper on housebuilding and vacancy chains, this time with data on every Swiss resident & housing unit! An interesting context given Switzerland's high immigration, very large rented sector and strong tenancy rent controls... frederickluser.github.io/files/Moving...

Anyone who says we don’t need zoning reform because we should just build subsidized housing should go watch a public hearing on any proposed project. Edmonton city council just wasted an entire day over adding 30 affordable units.

BCT had requested a 15k hour expansion for Vic to *maintain* service levels due to increasing congestion. In denying expansion, and actually cutting, the province has made clear that Transit isn't a core service and that they are fine with seeing service quality degrade. So much for Climate goals.

We are standing with groups across the province to fight for better transit in BC, including @movementyvr.bsky.social, @climatejusticeyyj.bsky.social , the West Coast Climate Action Network, and @bcruralhealth.bsky.social. Consider getting involved! bettertransityyj.ca/join-better-...

If you or people you know take transit in BC (especially in #yyj), this is going to hurt. We need to get the word out and put the pressure on about how important expansion, not stagnation (i.e. less service over time) is!

This is especially disappointing after seeing Squamish featured as part of @bcpolicy.bsky.social's great seminar on housing policy.

Our latest newsletter is out! mailchi.mp/a43ac17f9af1... As a highlight, we now have our membership structure set up! You can sign up to become a member at bettertransityyj.ca/membership/

Interesting point about value engineering

There's a lot BC can learn from in this excellent report. Perhaps most directly relevant for #yyj : we need to plan transit around our goals as a region, not around ideology. Also, we need to empower at least one set of decision-makers to actually build what we need as a region.

Very happy to have collaborated with CSA Group on this report examining successes and challenges in transit project construction in Canada and the lessons we can learn for future projects. www.csagroup.org/article/publ...

Every few months we get someone new to the housing discourse misinterpret some statistics and get mislead into believing it's not a housing shortage. Fortunately that idea falls apart simply by asking why some markets seem to be immune to financialization. www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Are "pre-rebuttals" a thing, like "pre-zonings"? If so, here's a pre-rebuttal from @jensvb.bsky.social and I to the latest argument that supply doesn't matter (from CCPA, sigh). The Key: Doubling up is the demographic indicator demonstrating our shortage. homefreesociology.com/2025/07/06/h...

Agree, I would worry for a left that doesn't recognize how critical the shortage of homes is to the crisis. The supply shortage isn't the only thing, but it's a fundamental driver. Tried to synthesize some of the evidence for a progressive audience here: bcpolicy.ca/2025/12/16/h...

The crisis is a shortage of housing. This is crystal clear in the data; rents go up when there are fewer empty homes on the market, and rents go down when landlords can’t find tenants for their rentals.

BC Transit is looking for your input on service to the airport. Take the survey, or chat with them in person. We encourage you to tell transit to fix overcrowding and improve frequencies on important routes before investing into airport service. #yyj #bctransit engage.bctransit.com/victoria-air...

Should be an uncontroversial win for affordability 🙏 saanichnews.com/2026/02/01/s...

Doing the good work. We also are spinning up a little group to advocate for changes @fasttracktoronto.bsky.social

It's really crazy travelling Europe and realising how much more advanced the signal and track infra is on their streetcars vs ours. No, Boston and SF are not good examples of streetcar infra. I'm glad someone is finally able to delegate to our officials what Europe has had for decades.

The nodes and corridors approach segregates our city. Those who can afford to buy a single-detached home get to live on quiet, tree-lined streets. Renters and apartment-dwellers get busy, polluted arterials. More housing options everywhere is not just about affordability. It's also about equity.

There is a way to make Vancouver buses up to 18% faster that no one is talking about. It does not require digging tunnels. The solution is hidden in plain sight at our intersections.

This brand new 3 bedroom home in an 8-unit townhouse is going for less than average market rent at $1,650. That's rezoning for housing choice in action!

The $113-million mess of a community centre I wrote about this week is 100% funded from “development charges.” It is going in a neighbourhood with zero population growth. In part, these charges are a tax on newcomers to subsidize existing wealthy homeowners. globalnews.ca/news/1163476...

Buying a home in Canada is most often contingent on having wealthy parents. But it shouldn’t be. And there’s no good reason it has to be.

This should be shouted from the rooftops. Development charges are not intuitive to understand, but their impacts are substantial. If we continue the narrative of "growth pays for growth" without acknowledging who truly bears the burden of fees on new homes, we'll never build more affordable homes.

7m Rule. Euro style single stair apt buildings have narrower floor plates so you don't have deep/dark internal rooms, unlike what we get with fat north american buildings. 7m (23') max distance from windows is a good rule of thumb. Townhouses do this, but most double loaded apt buildings don't.

Do elevator standards in North America need a lift? Morning File by @suzannerent.bsky.social

What was the last good at-grade light rail line built in Canada?

We have a consultation problem. I write about a Toronto rec centre that will have taken 14 years to plan, cost at least three times the original budget - and be a bad building. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

I know it can be hard to believe that people actually oppose childcare in their community (and that the city's planning department listens to them!), but it's true. When I organized some pro-childcare pamphleteering in Douglas Park, an opponent interview bombed me!

My Streetcar Stop Consolidation Concept: - Remove stops without an opposing stop and/or closer than 300m - Maintain a general maximum spacing of 500m on streets and 600m along ROWs - Move stops where turns occur to farside for TSP effectiveness - Consolidate stops for services in the same direction

The 34 ft standard was derived from Sound Transit's use of "passenger level of service", which was derived from highway LOS. At least highway engineering is based off of quantitative speed/throughout; passenger LOS seems to be entirely subjective and ignores flow issues due to poor egress, not width

Clearer rules ➡️ more homes. Consistent standards ➡️ better public realm. Win-win. vicnews.com/2026/01/15/2... #yyj #housing

Pedestrian hit by pickup in downtown Victoria intersection It was the third time a pedestrian has been struck by a vehicle in the city in just over a week. www.timescolonist.com/local-news/p... #yyj #safety

Development fees don't "come out of the land" if you're an existing family redeveloping your home into a multigenerational plex. City and Metro fees just add straight into the cost.

🚨 Action Alert 🚨 Don’t let Edmonton backslide on housing! 🏘️ A new Administration report proposes cutting the maximum number of homes per lot from 8 to 6, and adding punitive lot size requirements. We need more homes, not less! Take 2 mins to say NO to these cuts 👇 www.edmonton.ca/residential_...

I know this is a joke, but the base of advocacy is people being annoying about an issue. If every person sent an email every time their bus was late it would be so easy to advocate for bus lanes.

🚍 Saanich meets Jan 19, 6:30pm on the Quadra McKenzie Plan. Speak up for a McKenzie bus lane + strong renter protections. Email [email protected] or call 250 475 5501 to register to speak by noon day of.

Council is again discussing the Quadra McKenzie Plan, this time at Committee of the Whole. Pro housing voices matter, so please come out if you can. 🗓 Mon, Jan 19 at 6:30 pm 📍 Saanich Municipal Hall or speak via Teams saanichca.primegov.com/Portal/Meeti...

Thanks to @theglobeandmail.com for featuring Edmonton and my data! The magic of density is amazing in just how many homes can be built with few properties. #yeg #yegcc www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...

🎵Guess who's back, back again? QMP's back, tell a friend!🎵 Saanich votes Jan 19 on the Quadra–McKenzie Plan. Transit riders need faster, reliable buses now. Speak up: email [email protected] or attend the meeting. Don’t let a small minority stall progress for thousands of daily riders.

NEW VIDEO: North America’s Elevator’s Problem Elevators are absolutely essential to modern cities..... and it turns out North America kind of sucks at them. We partnered with @sightline.org to look into the many issues plaguing our elevator industry, and what it might take to fix it.

The Quadra McKenzie Plan comes back to Saanich Council next Monday. We need it to pass so staff can get to work on speeding transit up. Remember, transit riders make up the majority of users on McKenzie at rush hour!

I know you've been thinking "we need way more podcasts". Your prayers have been answered! @chanface.bsky.social and I have a podcast about transit advocacy in Canada and around the world! LISTEN TO IT

My new podcast DWELL TIME IS OUT! Join Denis Agar and Rodney Chan in their discussions around transit in Canada. From buses to trains and everything else transit, learn about advocacy happening in Canadian cities and beyond. Apple podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/d... Spotify link below:

This year the BC government set the wealth test for the HOG at above $2M, while renters get income tested at around $65k (adjusted net family income) for the full tax credit and get less money than the HOG for e.g. my condo. (Yes, this is my annual call to get rid of the HOG)

Minnesota has released it's #SingleStair report www.dli.mn.gov/sites/defaul... 129 pages of fire safety modelling, but my takeaway: 1. Well maintained sprinklers are important 2. Number of stairs isn't important 3. Hallways are the problem (and current code allows for crazy long hallways)

My new report "Toward More Accurate and Responsive Congestion Costing" (www.vtpi.org/arcc.pdf ) critically evaluates congestion costing studies. Congestion costs are actually much lower than industry reports claim. Please let me know if you have comments about this analysis.

on the issues with how we view the role of tramways in canada (US, too), i am reminded of a very recent paper showing how modal shifts vary by transit mode in european cities, and how much higher they are for cities with metro systems than tram-only systems in larger, sprawling cities

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... "Not wanting to increase costs to residents, [Mayor] Harrison said the city is waiting for provincial funding before expanding transit services and buying more buses." It's disingenuous takes like this from electeds that are hindering transit expansion altogether.